Fellas,

I'll be having a guest join me with TWO cats for all of next summer.
The cats have no boat experience and I have no experience with cats -
oh boy - I think I'm in trouble.

Can a few of you that cruise with cats please give me some advice (both good and
bad problems).  Thanks much.

Tommy

Oh boy.  Are you in for a treat.  Traveling with cats can go in so many
directions.  I have two and frequently travel with both.

The first thing you need to rationalize in your mind that you are now
joining the cats in their adventure through life; they are not joining
you.  In their mind, their human assistant that feeds them and cares for
them was so nice and booked them a cruise on a private yacht for the
entire summer.

The first time the cats come on board, they will probably dart for the
nearest quiet, safe looking place and you won't see them for a couple of
days.  Eventually the cat will adapt to life on the water and everything
will be fine.  Occasionally a cat will not adapt at all and you will
have no choice but to terminate the relationship with the feline.  It
will take a while for a cat to develop his/her sea legs and expect
occasional "accidents" here and there until they get the hang of
things.  Cats are known for emptying the contents of their stomach on
demand and with absolutely no warning whatsoever.

One of the best tidbits of advice I can give you is to provide one more
litter boxes than you have cats on board.  So for you, it will be three
boxes, in convenient, quiet areas and away from their food.  If you
don't do that, you will have random surprises left for you in frequently
hard to reach places.  I use a natural pine pellet litter that turns to
sawdust upon use.  What is nice about this is that you can throw the
refuse overboard and it is environmentally neutral.  Above all, you do
not want cat urine in your boat.  The only thing that I can think of
that will ruin a boats interior faster is fire.

My recommendation is to bring the cats on board at least a week prior to
any intended cruising.  Give your new friends time to acclimate and see
how they do.  After a few days, start the engines and let them get used
to the noise.  If anything is out of the ordinary with the cats, don't
leave the dock.  The last thing on earth you want is to be out on the
open water with unhappy cats.  Let the cats acclimate on their own terms.

The other thing you will have to be cognizant of is that cats are
perpetual escape artists.  You will have to completely cat proof your
boat and especially so in terms of security, at least for the first few
weeks.  If kitty thinks that he has even a shred of hope in escaping off
the boat and running free, he will at least make a good effort.  One of
my cats would give anything to escape, while the other is just at home
walking around on the deck as he is sleeping down below.

I should also point out that the best cat to travel with is one that is
neutered/spayed and declawed.  One of mine is fixed and the other
isn't.  Neither is declawed due to personal preference, but I have come
to accept the occasional scratch mark here or there as part of cat
ownership.  I do regularly trim their claws however.  If either of your
new friends still have their claws, be sure to provide several
scratching posts here and there for them to use.  If you don't, they
will just assume that you have provided the use of your helm chair or
fine leather upholstery in the cabin for the purpose.

Good luck to you.  You will need it. :)

-Ryan